Before Hogwarts
by SaneYaoiAddict
Summary: Snape and Lily, from the time they met until their first day at Hogwarts.


_**Well, his is only my second Harry Potter fic, but I think I did really well. (: I've never written anything with Snape, but I did my best to keep him in character. **_

__Severus Snape lurked in the bushes, watching the red-haired girl with his dark eyes. The playground had been his refuge, a quiet place to get away from all the shouting and fighting at his house, but he'd never seen her before. He supposed she'd been at the Muggle school, when he'd found refuge here before, but now, it was definitely summer, if the sun beating overhead was any indication.

She came alone, at first, and he knew it the moment he saw her; she was a witch. She was always playing with the flowers, making them grow faster as she giggled to herself, or jumping off the swing at the peak of its movement, never suffering a single scratch, always landing perfectly on her feet with ease.

But after his first attempt to talk to her, to reveal himself, she always came with that Muggle sister of hers—though he was sure she hadn't seen more than a quick flash of dark hair that day.

It was impossible to catch her alone, after that, but it didn't stop him from coming; partly because he had nowhere else to go, and partly because he _liked _seeing the girl. He liked the soft, fluttering feeling in his chest when he saw her, liked the way he couldn't suppress a smile when he saw her playing so joyfully, so innocently, while giggling to herself, showing her sister the various magical things she could do.

When he finally got the nerve to talk to her, it didn't go as planned; she had taken offense to the term "witch," no doubt the Muggle stereotypes coming to mind, and her sister dragged her away, leaving him watching her through the gate as she walked further away, hoping for her to turn around, to make the strange despair he suddenly felt disappear. What if she never came back?

Accepting that she would not be back anytime soon, as it was already dark—he'd waited, hoping she would turn around, and come running back, a foolish hope—he sulked back home, wondering if his parents would even notice that he'd gone.

The next few days, he stood there, waiting for her to come, but each night, long after night had fallen, he gave up and walked back home, looking over his shoulder as he did so, even though he knew it was far too late for her to come.

But about a week after she left, she returned, alone this time. Severus was extremely relieved, but didn't smile just yet; maybe she was only saying goodbye. Maybe she didn't want to be seen talking to the boy who lived near the river, whose parents were always arguing with each other, so loudly it could be heard from the street.

But no, she simply said, "Tell me about…Magic."

He smiled, finally allowing the fluttering feeling in his chest free reign.

Severus threw a glance over his shoulder, catching the girl's sister hiding in the bushes, much like he used to, when he could not afford to be seen.

"I will," he said, turning back to her, "But not here. We could get in trouble if somebody hears us."

He started walking towards the forest near his house, but turned around when she didn't follow him.

"What is it?" he asked, seeing her look back into the bushes where her sister had been moments before.

"Nothing," she said, before following him, running to catch up.

The silence became uncomfortable after a while, and Severus found himself asking a question to which he already knew the answer; he'd heard it spoken by her sister many times. "What's your name?"

"Lily," she said. "And yours is…Snape?" she asked, reciting the name she'd heard her sister call him, spoken as an insult then.

"Well, technically," he said; he wouldn't have minded anything she called him, really. "It's actually Severus."

"Severus," she repeated, not managing to restrain her giggle.

"What?" He sounded offended. Her laugh confused him; it was only his name. What was so funny?

"Nothing, it's just long," she said, looking at him, not giggling anymore. She wasn't even smiling; he'd scared her with his tone. She just looked into his dark eyes, trying to decipher any emotions.

"I'll just call you Sev, okay?" She smiled at him, and he could not help but smile—not smirk—back at her as they kept walking toward the forest.

She'd wanted to call him by Sev, given him a nickname for his very own; she'd _thought _about him.

But this rare happiness was cut short as they passed his house.

He hadn't realized they'd gone this way; he'd meant to go around his house, but had turned in the wrong place…

He could tell from the look on her face that she could hear them, and he felt ashamed, ashamed of his entire family, ashamed of the way they screamed at each other. Cursing each other—in his mom's case, literally.

"Lily…" he said, wanting to explain, but he couldn't get any other words out; the name felt so odd on his tongue, so beautiful, so different from the swears he shouted at his parents.

She didn't say anything, just stood there and listened to his parents yell at each other. He'd always resented his family, but had never been this embarrassed; he'd never had anyone to bring back home before.

"Let's _go_," he said desperately, breaking her out of her trance. She followed him into the forest, where they sat near the river, listening to the flowing water.

"Are you going to tell me about magic?" She asked again.

He nodded, beginning to explain all he knew, watching the way she listened to him, her eyes bright.

The river quickly became their meeting spot, instead of the park. She never brought her sister, and he cherished every moment with her.

Before they knew it, September came around. He met Lily on the train, as his parents would not take kindly to their son associating with a mudblood—but she meant so much to him.

But then, she met that _boy _on the train, who caused her to doubt the nobility of Slytherin House, gave him the first doubts that they wouldn't be in the same House after the Sorting. 

And then, when the hat put him in Slytherin, he knew it was all over as he saw her at the Gryffindor table, with those vulgar boys from the train.

He'd lost a friend that day, and gained two enemies. He'd make their lives hell, make them pay for taking her away from him.

_**Sorry for the rushed ending. ^^; When I wrote this, I wanted to show my friend, and when I typed it, I already forgot most of the characterization and everything. D: Sorry for any inconsistencies. But I hope you liked it. (: **_


End file.
